Decelerator



July 16, 1935. E. A. RocKwlELL 2,008,403

DECELERTOR original -Filed March 5, 1924 4 sheets-sheet 1- Y i I I July16, 1935. E; A. RocKwELL. 2,008,403

ADECELEELATOR Original Filed March 3, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 16,1935. E. A. RocKwELL. 2,008,403

DECELERATOR Original Filed March 3, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 [1,111 INH.

. July 16, 1935. E. A. RocKwELL DECELERATOR Original Filed March 3, 19244 Sheets-Sheet 4 Z O m w n n@ Patented July 16, 1935 UNITED sTATE'sPATENT OFFICE Reflled for abandoned application Serial No.

696,495, March 3, 1924. This application February'24, 1928, Serial No.256,745. Renewed November 18, 1933.

22 Claims. (Cl. 188-134) Y My invention relates toa system by means ofwhich a brake may be applied in an advantageous manner `to any mechanismbut which is especially adapted for use in connection with automobiles.

The object of my invention is to provide a system of braking which hasmany advantages and which may be applied to any movingpart of any kindof mechanism but `which is especially useful in connection withautomobiles.

An. object of my invention is to provide a braking effect which isbrought into play by any condition occurring in the mechanism causingthe driven portion of the same to exceed the speed of the drivingelementl therein. In connection with automobiles the purpose is tosupply a braking effect when the automobile tends to run faster than theengine or when the engine is caused to run more slowly than theautomobile. This is accomplished by putting a load upon the driven shaftwhen the same is over-running, which may be accomplished through anydesired mechanism whether mechanical, electrical, etc. In other words,forexample, when it is desired to stop the car the moving of theaccelerator lever back to normal position, resulting in the slowing downof the engine, will bring the braking device into action so as to thusautomatically retard the car. 'Ihis braking device may be used inconnection `with `or in the absence of any of the usual brakingdevices'found upon automobiles, as for example, with either rear orfrontwheel brakes, or even withrear and front wheel brakes or alone withouteither rear or front wheel brakes. When used with rear wheel brakes thecombined braking eiect of the braking device malde in accordance with myinvention and the rear Wheel brakes will bring the car to rest morequickly than merely when rear and front wheel brakes are carried bytheucar. Furthermore, the'braking action will come into play morequickly with my device than is possible with either the rear or frontWheel brakes used upon automobiles. It has the further advantage thatwhen used with merely rear wheel brakes a better braking effect isobtained than when using merely rear and front wheel brakes but withoutthe disadvantage of front wheel skidding. The tendency to skid whenusing front wheel brakes is, furthermore, avoided by avoiding anypossibility of preventing the rotation of the front wheels. Furthermore,the disadvantage in the use of lrear and front Wheel brakes due to thedifference in wear upon the brake bands thereof, is thus avoided. Forthese reasons the length of life 'of the other brakes on the car isincreased also. In this way the maximum braking effect is obtained whileat the same time the car is kept under control at all times.

However, the apparatus made in accordance with my invention may be soarranged, if desired, that it does not put any more load on the drivenvshaft than the engine does. Furthermore, the braking device is arrangedto become effective gradually and in addition, the braking device, whenbrought into play, starts without a load, for thesame reason and toavoid skidding. Another advantage of the system is that when going intoreverse the braking device is automatically disengaged. Again, the partsare arranged so as to operate in a uniform manner by being maintained atan even temperature due to the circulation of a liquid around the same.

It will, furthermore, be understood that the braking device may bemadeof any desired size according to the speed at which it is required torun. The higher the speed ofthe device the smaller will be the unitrequired for giving the desired braking eiect. Cooling devices arefurthermore provided to permit not only large but small units to be usedfor this purpose when desired.

Further objects of my invention will appear from the detaileddescription thereof Vcontained hereinafter.

While my invention is capable of embodiment in many diiferent forms forthe purpose of illustration I have shown one form in the accompanyingdrawings in which- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a chassis 35 ofan automobile equipped with my invention.

Fig. 2 is anfenlarged longitudinal section of the driven shaft.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the braking devices which arecontrolled by the driven shaft. 40

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 and Fig. 5 isanother vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

In the drawings I have shown an automobile chassis I having an engine 2mounted thereon. The engine 2 has a driving shaft 3 connected by auniversal 4 to a forward driven shaft 5 by means of a series of splines6 on the front end of the shaft 5. The shaft 5 is carried by a jour- 50nal l held in place by means of a pin 8 in a housing 9. Said shaft 5 hasa flange I0 which acts as an abutment for receiving a movable sleeve,il. The sleeve Il has an internal screwthread I2 meshing with ascrew-thread Il upon 55 ing peripheral notches to permit the same to beslipped inside of the sleeve II. It will be understood that' the shaftI6 is connected with a rear universal I1 through which the car isdriven. Furthermore, the forward end of the shaft I6 is supported in aJournal-bearing I3 held in place by a Din I9, the same beingsupported-by a cover 20 connected by screws 2I to the housing 9. Betweenthe bearing I3 and the rearward end of the sleeve II there is a worm 22having a friction clutch surface 23 arranged to co-operate with afriction clutch surface 24 carried by the sleeve II. These two surfaces23 and 24 are normally spaced apart at an appreciable distance owing tothe position of the sleeve II which is determined by contact with theabutment I3 and there is a spring 24a located between the sleeve Il andworm 22. When, for any reason, the shaft I6 over-runs; the shaft 5,thus, vwill cause thesleeve II to be moved by the screwthread I2rearwardly so as to bring the clutch surfaces 23 and 24into contact,thus rotating the worm 22.with the shaft I 6. This will result in therotation of a worm 25 meshing with the worm 22 loosely mounted on theshaft I6, but normally vheid stationary.

The worm 25 is located upon a shaft 26 supported at one end in ajournal-bearing 21 held in place by a pin 23 in the housing 9. Ascrewcover 29 is located at this end of the shaft 26 to permit access toa nut 33 which, by means of a washer3l, holds the worm 26 in place. The

other end of the shaft 26 is carried in a brakecasing 32 looselysupported by 'a bracket 33 which is secured tothe chassis I. .At one endof the casing 32 there is a bearing-34 held in place by a pin 35 tosupport the shaft 26, a stumng box 36 being provided atthis point toprevent the leakage of water. At the other end the shaft 26 is carriedin a bearing 31 held in place by a pin 33 located in a removable cover33 secured to the casing 32 by screws 43, a stumng box 4I being providedat this end of the shaft also. A thrustwasher 42 supports the shaftagainst the bearing 31 at onei end and a thrust-washer 43, having a pin44 passing' through'the same, supports the shaft 26 from the oppositedirection. Adjacent to the thrust-washer 43 there is a screw-thread 45on the shaft 26 which cooperate's with an internal screw-threaded sleeve41 havingballbearings 48 and 49 carried in a flange 63 thereon. Theflange 53 is arranged to' receive a drag at 5I through means of a seriesof centrifugal plungers 5Ia provided with braking surfaces adjacent tothe inner `surface of a ring 62 held in the casing 32 by screws 53. Thecontact of the plungers 5Ia with the ring 52 serves to retard therotation of the member 41 and consequently causes it to be moved axiallyalong the shaft 26 by means of the threads 45. The purpose of theball-bearings 43, 49 is to contact with one of aseries of brakediscs 64spiined within the casing 32 and which cooperate with a series ofsplines 55 upon the interior of the casing 32 Alternating with the discs64 there is a set of similar discs 56 splined to the shaft-26 by meansof splines 51 thereon. An end disc 58 is provided adJacent the last oneof the discs 66, the same being provided with a groove 69 to receive aspring 63, the other end of which rests against the .interior of the oover 33.

In order to adjust the braking effect by controlling the degree ofpressure obtainable between the discs 64 and 66 I have provided a collar6I on the shaft 26 and which is provided withv interior notches orrecesses 62 fitting b etween the splines 61. A pin 63 holds the collar6I in place by passing through the same, said pin being located in aslot 64 in the shaft 23 and being arranged to be adjusted longitudinallyby a rod 66 screw-threaded in a longitudinal recess provided in thecenter of the shaft 26. A nut 66 secures the rod 66 in its adjustedposition. The `collar 6I serves to limit the movement of the disks 64and 66 under pressure from the spring 63 and further serves to linut themovement of the threaded sleeve 41. The position of the collar 6I isadjusted by means of the rod 66 which thus controls the adjustment ofthe braking effect.

In orderto keep the braking device at an even temperature and thusprovide an even braking effect, circulation of water may be provided bymeans of a tube 61 leading from the upper portion ofl the w'atercirculating system of the engine 2 to a port 68 in the upper portion ofthe casing 32 and a tube 63 is provided leading to a port 13 in thelower portion of the casing 32. It will be noted that the ports 63 and13 are 1ocated, furthermore, at the two ends of the casing 32 and thatthe sleeve 41 has a number of radial ports 1I to cause the circulationthrough the same of the water in the direction of the arrows. Ifdesired, each'of `the discs 64 and 66 may be provided vwith circulargrooves 12 to assist in cooling the same. The disks 64-and 66 and thesleeve 41` thus serve as a pump to circulate water through the brake andthe connecting tubes 61 and 63 carry it to and from the radiator wherethe water is cooled.

Furthermore, there may be provided on the automobile an accelerating andbraking `means in addition, as desired. For-this purpose there may beprovided an accelerator lever 13 carried by a shaft 14 journaled in theframe I and carrying a lever 16, connected by a rod 16 to athrottle-valve 11 of the usual type. Again, the automobile may beprovided with afoot lever 13 for braking, carried upon a shaft 13journaled in the frame I and provided with levers 33 and 3| foroperating rods or cables 32 and 33 connected respectively at their otherends to levers 34 and 36 on shafts 36 and 31 journalled in the frame Iand provided with levers 33 and 33 foropera'ting band-brakes 33 and 9|on-rear wheels 32 and 93 carried by the chassis.

In the operating of my braking device it is to be understood thatwhen,for any reason, the car is moving faster than the engine or the engineis caused to move more slowly than the car as,

for instance, when the volume of the fuel fed toV the engine isdecreased by the driver of the' car lifting his foot from theaccelerator lever 13 partly or entirely, this will have the effect ofbringing the braking device into action if the liftingl of the foot isnot too slow, owing to the consequent rotation of the sleeve II relativeto shaft 5 and the resulting contact between the clutch surfaces 23 and24. However, it will be understood that it will take an appreciableeffect to bring the clutch surfaces 23 and 24 together owing to thepresence of the spring 24a. In this way, for example, the braking devicewill not be brought into operation merely by such an operation as thelshifting of the gears in the normal intervals between succeedingpositions in gear shifting, that isV to say, while the engine clutch isthrown out. As a result of the engagement of. the clutch surfaces theshaft 26 will be rotated and, accordingly, due to the retardationafforded by the presence of the plungers ii a, the flange 50 will movethe brake discs I4 and lt together to the degree permitted by theposition of the adjusting rod Gland the braking effect will thus beapplied to the car. This action will take place when the control ismoved to decrease the acceleration applied to the car through theaccelerator lever. It will also occur when the car is coasting down ahill. In general it will occur when it is desired to retard the movementof the car and this will occur before the operator of the car will havehad time to apply the wheel brakes by the movement of any brake leverwith which the car is equipped. 'Ihe car will, therefore, be retarded ina most effectivemanner in that the braking action takes place before anyopportunity has been available for the application of the usual brakescarried by the `wheels of the automobile. It will also be understoodthat the regulation of the braking effect at' any time, is determined bythe amount of the drag produced by the engine running at a relativelylower speed than the automobile and that, therefore, the control of thespeed of the engine will control the braking effect through the saiddrag of the engine. For example, in descending a hill there would be anice point found in the regulation of the braking effect due to theapplication of the drag of the engine as referred to. The car beingequipped with an additional brake to be operated by the brake lever 18,it will be understood that this brake 1B may be used as an emergencybrake or a brake of the ordinary type but that by reason of the presenceof the automatic brake described in detail herein the movement of thecar will already be slowed down by the braking system before theoperator has had- -time to place his foot on the brake lever "Il,`

In other words, the normal braking action as applied to a car will havebeen brought into operation before the foot has left the acceleratorlever 13 instead of thereafter as is ordinarily the case with othertypes of braking mechanism.

For these reasons, furthermore, the brake which is operated by the lever18 and which may be an emergency brake, will be brought int'o action asan emergency brake when desired as a final braking operation before thiswould have been possible with the ordinary braking systems previouslyused. Whenthe differential speedsl between the driving and driven partshave ceased toV cause the screw 45 to move the flange 50 so' as toproduce a braking eiect between the discs 56 and 54, the force of thespring 60 will cause the flange 50 to be returned to its initialposition owing to the energy that has been stored up in' the spring 60by the compression of the same. This movement is possible due to thefact that at the lower speeds the centrifugal plungers 5I will exerciseless friction against the ring 52 than l in the case where thebrake-discs 54 and 58 are will cause the sleeve Il to move toward theclutch surface 23 on worm 22 which will stop the axial movement ofk thesleeve and shaft I6 will be driven through the grooves and projectionsIla and I 6b. Theworm 22 will rotate gear 26 and shaft 26 in the reversedirection. `This will cause the sleeve 41 in the brake to be heldagainst the thrust collar 43 and there willkbe no braking action.

Many advantages result from the provision of braking devices in this wayas have been referred to in detail hereinabove.

While I have described my invention above in detail I wish it to beunderstood that many changes maybe made therein without departing fromthe spirit of the same.

I claim: l

1. An automobile braking system comprising, a driving means, a brakingdevice and mechanical connections comprising a friction means forbringing the braking device into action by a relative decrease of the'speed of the driving means relative to the automobile and a drivenmeans deriving its power directly from the driving means.

2. In a braking system, driving means, a normally stationary membercapable of rotation, means for coupling said driving means to saidmember for rotation therewith,braking means brought into action by therotation of said member and means controllingv the braking pressure bythe speed of rotation of said member.

3. In a braking system for automobiles, a drive shaft, a normallystationary counter-shaft, means for coupling said drive shaft `to saidcounter-shaft for rotation thereof, braking means brought into action by`the rotation of said counter-shaft and means controlling the brakingpressure by the speed of rotation of said countershaft.

4. In a braking system, a drive shaft, a normally stationary membercapable of rotation, friction clutching means for coupling said driveshaft to said member for rotation thereof, braking means brought intoaction by the rotation of said member and means controlling the brakingpressure bythe speed of rotation of said member.

5. In a braking system for automobiles, a drive shaft, a clutch elementdriven thereby, a normally stationary member capable of rotation, asecond clutch element rotatable therewith, means for producingfrictional engagement between saidclutch elements to produce rotation ofsaid member, braking means brought into action by the rotation of saidmember and means controlling the braking pressure by the speed ofrotation of said member.

6. In a braking system, driving means, a normally stationary membercapable of rotation, means for coupling said driving means to saidmember for rotation thereof, a brake actuating element rotatable withsaid member andmovable longitudinally with respect thereto, brakingmeans brought into action by the longitudinal -movement of said brakeactuating element and means for producing the longitudinal movement ofsaid brake actuating element and thereby controlling4 the brakingpressure by the speed of rotation of said member.

resilient means normally holding said brake actuating element ininoperative position, braking means operable by the longitudinalmovement of said brake actuating element against the resistance of saidresilient means and` frictional retarding means for acting upon saidbrake actuating element to retard its rotation with respect to saidcounter-shaft and operable to produce longitudinal movement of saidelement for applying said braking means upon rotation of saidcountershaft.

8. In an automobile braking system, a drive shaft, a second shaftnormally disconnected from said drive shaft, a brake actuating elementimpositively rotated by said second shaft, coupling means for connectingsaid drive shaft to said second shaft and braking means brought intoaction by a relative rotation between said brake actuating element andsaid second shaft.

9. In an automobile braking system, a drive shaft, a clutch elementspirally threaded thereto, a second clutch element, means for producinga relative rotation between said first clutch element and said driveshaft for causing lateral movement thereof to bring said clutch elementsinto engagement, a second shaft driven by the rotation of said secondclutch element, a brake actuating element spirally threaded to saidsecond shaft, frictional gripping means for retarding the rotation ofsaid brake actuating element with respect to said second shaft to causelateral movement thereof and braking means for said Vsecond shaftoperable by a lateral movement of said brake actuating element. l

10. In a braking system.`a drive shaft, a clutch element spirallythreaded thereto, a second normally stationary shaft, a second clutchelement connected to drive said second shaft, means for producingfrictional engagement between said clutch elements to drive said secondshaft, a brake actuating element spirally threaded to said second shaft,resilient means normally holding said brake actuating element ininactive position with respect to said second shaft, braking means forretarding the rotation of said second shaft brought into action by thetravel of said brake actuating element along said second shaft againstthe resistance of Isaid resilient means and frictional gripping meansoperable upon the rotation of said brake actuating element for retardingthe rotation thereof to effectuate its travel in a brake actuatingdirection whereby the speed of rotation controls the braking pressure.

1l. A braking system comprising, a driving shaft, a driven shaft, acoupling sleeve between said shafts, said sleeve having a spiral threadconnection with said driving shaftand a keyed connection with saiddriven shaft permitting longitudinai movement of said sleeve upondifferential movement between said shafts, a normally stationary sleeveadjacent said coupling sleeve for frictional engagement therewith uponlongitudinal movement of said coupling sleeve in one direction andbraking means automatically brought into action by the rotation of saidnormally stationary sleeve upon frictional engagement with saidrotatable coupling sleeve.

12. A braking system comprising a driving shaft, a driven Shaft, acoupling sleeve between said shaftsI spirally threaded to said driveshaft and keyed to said driven shaft for longitudinal movement withrespect thereto, -a normally stational-y sleeve mounted adjacent saidmovable coupling sleeve for frictional engagement therewith uponlongitudinal movement of said coupling sleeve, resilient means normallyholding said sleeves out of frictional engagement and braking meansbrought into action by the rotation of said normally stationary sleeve.

13. In a braking system for automobiles comprising a drive shaftconnected tothe engine, a

driven shaft connected to the wheels, a coupling member between saidshafts positively rotated with said driven shaft but capable of axialmovement with respect thereto, means connecting said coupling member tosaid drive shaft comprising cam surfaces for producing axial movement ofsaid coupling member when said driven shaft tends to rotate faster thansaid drive shaft, a normally stationary clutch element adapted to befrictionally engaged by the coupling member upon the Vaxial movementthereof whereby the clutch element is rotated and braking means for theautomobile brought into action by the rotation of said clutch element.

14. In a braking system, driving means, a normally stationary membercapable of rotation. means for coupling said driving means to saidmember for rotation thereof, a brake actuating element axially movablewith respect to said member and braking means brought into action by theaxial movement of said element.`

15. In a braking system, driving means, a normally stationary membercapable of rotation, means for coupling said driving means to saidmember for rotation therewith, a slidable thrust member, spiral couplingmeans between said members whereby said thrust member is moved by therotation of said normally stationary member and braking means broughtinto action by the movement of said thrust member.

16. In a braking system, a drive shaft, a normally stationarycounter-shaft, means for coupling said drive shaft to said counter-shaftfor rotation thereof, a thrust member axially movable with respect tosaid counter-shaft, spiral coupling means between said thrust member andsaid counter-shaft whereby said thrust member is moved by the rotationof saidcounter-shaft and braking means brought into action by themovement of said thrust member.

17. In a braking system, a drive shaft, a normally stationary membercapable of rotation, friction clutch means for coupling said drive shaftto said member for rotation thereof, a thrust member axially movablewith respect to said firstmentioned member, spiral means coupling saidmembers for moving said thrust member upon rotation of said`first-mentioned member and braking means brought into action by themovement of said thrust member.

18. In a braking system, a drive shaft, a clutch element driven thereby,a normally stationary member capable of rotation, having a second clutchelement coupled to saidnormally stationary member, means for producingfrictional engagement between said clutch element and second clutchelement to produce rotation of said member, a thrust member axiallymovable with respect to said mst-mentioned member, spiral meansintermediate said members for producing movement of said thrust memberupon rotation of said first-mentioned member and braking means broughtinto action by the movement of said thrust member.

19. In a vehicle control system, driving means, a normally stationarymember capable of rotation, means for coupling said,l driving means tosaid member for rotation thereof, a control actuating element axiallymovable with respect to said member and eontrolmeans brought into actionby the axial movement oi said element.

20. In a vehicle control system, a vehicle drive shaft, a clutch elementdriven thereby, a normally stationary member capable of rotation,`

having a second clutch element coupled to said normally stationarymember, means for producing Irictional engagement between said clutchelement and said second clutch element to produce rotation of saidmember, a thrust member axially movable with respect to saidfirst-mentioned member, spiral means intermediate said members forproducing movement of said thrust member upon rotation of saidfirst-mentioned member and vehicle control means brought into action bythe movement of said thrust member.

21. In a power applying system of an automotive vehicle, driving means,a normally stationary member capable of movement, means for couplingsaid driving means to said member for continuous movement thereof whilecoupled, an actuating element for actuating said member movable withrespect to said member and energy applying means adapted to be energizedby the movement of said element.

22. In a power applying system of an automotive vehicle, means adaptedto be moved in the movement of the vehicle, a normally stationary membercapable of movement, means for 'coupling said iirst mentioned means tosaid member for continuous movement thereof while coupled, an actuatingelement for actuating said member movable with respect to said memberand energy applying means adapted to be energized by the movement ofsaid element.

EDWARD A. ROCKWELL.

